michael steinlage

Initiative 22, also known as the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, would legalize marijuana and set the limits of personal possession and cultivation at 24 ounces or 24 plants. The Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp, sponsor of Initiatives 21 and 22, this week addressed the reason for setting these limits.

"Twenty-four ounces is not an arbitrary number," said Jersey Deutsch, campaign director for CRRH. "If anything, the limits in place under Colorado and Washington law are unnecessarily low, and possibly detrimental for medical users who make their own medicine at home."

Michael Steinlage, development director for the campaign, added: "It is true that under OCTA the allowable limits of both possession and cultivation would be 24 ounces, but this amount is already the legal limit for OMMP cardholders. For many patients on limited budgets whose preferred method of ingestion isn't smoking, the creation of homemade extracts and edibles would greatly ease the cost of self-medication.

"It takes large amounts of the flowering plant to make relatively small supplies of edible goods or oils, and these items can be very expensive when purchased from dispensaries," Steinlage said.

For those who choose to grow their own at home, a yearly harvest of 24 ounces would provide 2 ounces per month of the cured flowering plant.